America in the Balance

SPEAK SOFTLY AND CARRY A TWIG:

NEVILLE CHAMBERLAIN IS BEGINNING TO

LOOK POSITIVELY COURAGEOUS

by

Ken Eliasberg

There can be no clearer sign of the end of the British Empire than in Britain’s incredibly timid response to Iran’s latest effort to thumb their nose at the West. Why did Iran take such a gamble? Because they figured they could get away with it, and they were right!! In short, the gamble paid off—they gambled correctly. What were they gambling on? The West’s weakness—they were confident that, if they did not overplay their hand, the West, in general, and Britain, in particular, would do nothing. And, of course, no one in the West but Britain could do anything; it was always Britain’s call. However, in this instance, Britain was a metaphor for the West’s weakness. Iran, in a rather senseless move, risked war to demonstrate to Islamists around the world that the West was weak and would do nothing to provoke a military confrontation. Without the possibility of a military response, Iran had nothing to fear and thus made itself appear to be stronger than the once mighty Great Britain. Iran never really worried about a British military response; they knew that not only were the British in no position to fight; they had no stomach for it. This whole thing which, to the untutored eye, might seem farscial, was no farce. It was Iran’s message to the world of radical Islam—see, this is a paper tiger; you have nothing to fear - they have lost their will to fight (and, as we shall see below, in the case of Britain, this is quite true).

Please don’t misunderstand, I am not suggesting that Britain should have used the military option for openers. In fact, I am not suggesting that Britain should have used it at all. What I am suggesting is that once your enemy knows that you haven’t got the will to use that option, the discussion is over—you have lost, and that loss will cost you dearly (if it has not already). As noted above, Britain is finished, as, for that matter, is the rest of Europe; their will to defend their civilization is gone, and it is only a matter of time before the entire continent is part of the emerging Caliphate sought after by the Islamists. If you have any doubts, take a look at one or more of the following books: (1) Because They Hate—A Survivor of Islamic Terror Warns America, Brigitte Gabriel, St. Martin’s Press (2006); (2) While Europe Slept—How Radical Islam Is Destroying the West from Within, Bruce Bawer, Doubleday (2006); (3) Londonistan, Melanie Phillips, Encounter Books (2006); (4) Amerrica Alone, Mark Steyn, Regnery Publishing, Inc. (2006); and (5) Eurabia—The Euro-Arab Axis, Bat Ye’or, Fairleigh Dickinson University Press (2005). Brigitte Gabriel, survivor of the Muslim destruction of Christian Lebanon, tells a frightening tale of what happened in Lebanon when the balance of power shifted from Christian to Muslim—the rape, murder and total destruction of a country that was once known as the jewel of the Middle East. She and Melanie Phillips also have websites which are very worthwhile reading.

There are dozens of excellent columns on this travesty, but the following statement appearing in a National Review online editorial, entitled Tehran’s Victory, sums it up:

“ By committing an act of war, Iran has simultaneously made itself look peaceful and made the West look impotent.

* * * * * * * * *

According to eyewitness accounts and GPS data, the Britons were never in Iranian waters. Their treatment after being kidnapped was a violation of the Geneva Conventions: They were videotaped making confessions (almost certainly under duress) and otherwise humiliated. If Britain still acted like the great power it once was, it would have made clear on Day One that this was an act of war and would be viewed as such. That would not have required an immediate military response, or barred the possibility of negotiations with Iran. But it would have required telling Iran’s rulers, that, unless they released the hostages immediately, they would pay an unbearable cost. The threat need not have been spelled out specifically, but could have included, among other things, an economic embargo, a naval blockade, or eventual military strikes. That message should have been delivered in public and in private. (If Britain did threaten Iran privately, it should tell the world so now.) With respect to Theodore Roosevelt, this occasion called for walking loudly and carrying a big stick.”

As noted, that’s hardly what happened. Any way that you look at the situation, it was a cowardly display on the part of Great Britain. The hostages waited the appropriate degree of time—around 15 minutes—before collapsing into captivity. The E.U., the U.N., NATO or anyone else did nothing (and didn’t say a heck of a lot either; certainly not anything that anyone might confuse with saber rattling), the captives dutifully kissed Ahmadinejad’s ring on their way out the door, with their goodie bags in hand, and Ahmadinejad tried to look both forgiving and magnanimous in releasing the captured sailors. While it was all little more than theatre, it was by no means farce. In posturing, Iran, as noted, was sending a message to would-be radical Islamists all over the world—see I can pull the tiger’s whiskers because it is a paper tiger. The reality, of course, is something different. Radical Islam is not strong—it only appears to be because of the West’s lack of either unity or resolve. The West has more than sufficient means to crush these backward barbarian, murderous religious fanatics; what it lacks is the will to do so. Burdened by a left whose only approach to self defense is appeasement, it appears that it is unable to rise to its own survival. Britain, like the rest of Europe (and like what the left in this country is trying very hard to do to America) has simply given up. For the current state of affairs in Great Britain, I wholeheartedly recommend Melanie Phillip’s book, Londonistan, referred to above. I would also recommend an excellent column by Cal Thomas entitled Surrender Syndrome which appeared at Townhall.com on April 5, 2007. In it, Mr. Thomas reveals why Britain did not respond and why it is unlikely to respond in the future. For example, after observing that “[E]verywhere one looks in Europe there are signs that free people are prepared to surrender without a fight to those who would place them in bondage,” Mr. Thomas notes that:

1. British schools are dropping reference to the Holocaust in

history studies in fear of offending Muslims.

2. A new survey by a respected organization finds that most Britons

want to scale down their involvement in world affairs.

3. Sixty-five percent of respondents say Britain is overextended and

should reduce its overseas commitments, have less military

influence in the world than it does today. Furthermore, 69% say

that they would not want their sons to serve in the military (for

daughters, the number is 75%).

Mr. Thomas, in a column that is well worth reading (at least for those who don’t want their grandchildren speaking Arabic and their granddaughters wearing Burkas) goes on to point out several other critical signs of the West’s deteriorating capacity to defend itself. Actually, this is not too surprising; it parallels the declining fortunes of Christianity in Europe. Europe has undergone a significant secularization, creating a spiritual vacuum which, apparently, is being filled by Islam—an Islam that has never emerged from the dark ages, and, as Bridgette Gabriel points out quite graphically (and accurately), brings with it death, devastation, and destruction. I am not a Christian - my support of Christianity is not based on a religious calling; it is based on a calling which to me is no less compelling“ my desire for America’s survival. That said, let me assure you that the fortunes of America depend heavily, if not exclusively, on the fortunes of Christianity. One might say—and I certainly do—as Christianity goes, so goes America.

I also strongly recommend Londonistan for further evidence of the end of a great Empire (and the beginning of a dark-age caliphate). Again, I urge America to wake up before the forces on the left in this country succeed in their effort to reduce us to the sorry and depleted state of Europe. In short, while this may have been no more than a P.R. gesture on Iran’s part, it would seem to have been a very successful one.